Street's night of the living dread

Updated 12:01 pm, Wednesday, October 31, 2012

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Residents on Clare Castle Dr. in Colonie were overrun with unruly Halloween revelers Monday night Oct. 31, 2011. Police were called in to disperse the large crowd which chose to converged on the neighborhood. (Courtesy Loretta Orlando) less

Residents on Clare Castle Dr. in Colonie were overrun with unruly Halloween revelers Monday night Oct. 31, 2011. Police were called in to disperse the large crowd which chose to converged on the neighborhood. ... more

Streets were littered with toilet paper, eggs and shaving cream from the Halloween night incident on Clare Castle Dr. in Colonie, N.Y. Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011. About 200 teenagers trashed the neighborhood and ... more

Photo: Lori Van Buren

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Residents on Clare Castle Dr. in Colonie were overrun with unruly Halloween revelers Monday night Oct. 31, 2011. Police were called in to disperse the large crowd which chose to converged on the neighborhood. (Courtesy Loretta Orlando) less

Residents on Clare Castle Dr. in Colonie were overrun with unruly Halloween revelers Monday night Oct. 31, 2011. Police were called in to disperse the large crowd which chose to converged on the neighborhood. ... more

Silly string and a shaving cream can on a drain from the Halloween night incident on Clare Castle Dr. in Colonie, N.Y. Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011. About 200 teenagers trashed the neighborhood and confronted police.

A car window parked in a driveway was egged from the Halloween night incident on Clare Castle Dr. in Colonie, N.Y. Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011. About 200 teenagers trashed the neighborhood and confronted police.

Clare Castle Dr. residents in Colonie were over run with unruly Halloween revelers Monday night Oct. 31, 2011. Police were called in to disperse the large crowd which chose to converged on the neighborhood. (Courtesy Loretta Orlando)

Clare Castle Dr. residents in Colonie were over run with unruly Halloween revelers Monday night Oct. 31, 2011. Police were called in to disperse the large crowd which chose to converged on the neighborhood.

COLONIE — Residents of Clare Castle Drive are bracing for their annual Halloween nightmare, when their small street is overrun by hundreds of teenagers.

Last year, police arrested two people among the 200 to 300 they said mobbed the block of only eight homes. The next day, the street was littered with 21 shaving cream cans, 11 empty egg cartons, streams of toilet paper and candy wrappers. The mischief occurred despite the presence of seven police officers, a sergeant and a lieutenant.

This year, police said they will patrol the street in an attempt to keep the chaos from being repeated, but residents say they have been told there is not much to be done unless someone breaks the law.

"We're definitely going to have extra patrols up in the area," said Deputy Chief John Van Alstyne. "We will be concentrating on those areas to make sure the kids go out and have fun trick-or-treating."

He cautioned parents against dropping off their children.

"We prefer they stay in their own neighborhoods," he said.

Police and the town attorney met with several dozen home owners from the neighborhood recently to talk about this year's effort to curtail the mischief.

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One neighbor, Loretta Orlando, said residents were told the police can only act if someone breaks the law.

"We were told just to be prepared," she said.

The street connects two large neighborhoods, which Orlando said appears to be part of the attraction for teenagers to go there.

A flier about the meeting between parents and police was posted by teens on social media, urging others to come to the neighborhood on Halloween night, she said.

Orlando said she would like to see the town institute a curfew.

When she lived in Ohio, she said, towns had set hours for trick or treating.

"We never had problems like this," she said.

As for her family, Orlando said, they have removed decorations from their yard to prevent damage.

"I don't think we're going to be home," she said.

Orlando said she wishes parents would not bring their children to her street, but she is doubtful most will take responsibility. When police have picked up teens in the past, she said, parents complained about the inconvenience of having to retrieve their kids.

"I really don't think the parents think it's really a big deal," she said. "The people in this area do think it's a problem."